Lueder leads the way
Senior makes all-star team for third straight season
Brookfield Central's Erin Lueder keyed the Lancers third straight GMC Championship run. She was co-player of the year in the GMC also and made the NOW All-Suburban Team for the third year in a row. Photo By PETER ZUZGA
One of Brookfield Central senior point guard Erin Lueder's biggest traits is her consistency. So it is no surprise that she made the 2010 NOW All-Suburban Girls Basketball Team for the third consecutive season.
Lueder is not a high-profile offensive player, but more of an all-around player who does the little things to win.
A three-time Greater Metro Conference selection and this year's GMC co-player of the year, the talented Lueder continued to run the show for the Lancers from her point guard spot this season.
Her strength is her all-around play and excellent defense. She averaged 10.7 points per game, with 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.6 steals. She led the Lancers in points (236), assists (88) and steals (57) and was second in rebounds (85).
Central finished the year with an 18-7 record, losing to Racine Case in the sectional semifinal and missing on a chance at a third straight trip to state.
The Lancers won their third straight GMC championship, sharing this one with Divine Savior Holy Angels, each with 13-1 records.
Filling big shoes
Lueder had the responsibility to take over for graduated senior Joanna Bielefeld, the two-time conference player of the year. There was pressure right from the beginning of the season, with everyone expecting a return trip to Madison.
"People kept saying we had everyone back 'but' Joanna, but she was like a big 'but,' " Lueder said. "She was our main scorer. I could play well because I could pass it to her and she'd score and we'd work off each other. Now we didn't have that person. We needed to have people step up."
Seniors Jesse Thomas and Maggie Mattiacci and junior Valerie Rose Agnello were the other main parts of Central's scoring machine, but no one was as consistent in getting Lueder the ball as Lueder herself had been with Bielefeld.
The other obstacle that hindered the Lancers was the rugged nonconference schedule coach Dan Wandrey put together to help the team adapt to the rugged sectional they would have to face again.
The Lancers went 2-5 against their nonconference opponents - Mukwonago (18-7), Nicolet (20-2), Oak Creek (18-8), Milwaukee Vincent (24-3), Milwaukee King (17-7), New Berlin Eisenhower (26-2) and Waukesha South (17-8) - beating King and Division 2 state champion Eisenhower.
They started out 3-4 overall, before winning 11 of their next 12, getting winning streaks of five and six games, respectively.
"Everyone felt pressure - even after our first game. We lost and it was like 'Oh God, we lost,' " Lueder said. "We had really lofty goals. Then we lost to Nicolet and we were like 'What do we do now?' We were suddenly the underdog.
"Seeding, sure it's cool to have the number one seed (in the sectional), but I don't think it's that big a deal to be the third seed (behind Muskego and Racine Case)."
On the bench
Lueder had no idea she would watch her last varsity game from the bench, as she suffered from mononucleosis, strep throat and tonsillitis after the regional championship win over Greendale on March 13.
She went to the doctor March 15 and found out her high school basketball career was over.
"I thought I had a cold," she said. "I had some side pain. Monday my throat hurt. They said I was lucky that my spleen didn't rupture. It was so large he (the doctor) could feel it.
"When he told me I was in shock. I was like, 'I can still play can't I?' I was home all week, and on Friday I was like "We have a game today?'
She watched the Lancers lose to Case that Friday. Case eventually won the sectional and advanced to state.
"It was so weird. I was on the bench. It was weird, like 'Why aren't I out there playing?' You just noticed what you could do to make them better. It was really hard watching."
But Lueder can look back and appreciate what her senior class did.
"I did this with my friends," she said. "We looked forward to this for years. Now we have something to remember. It's awesome."
Wandrey knows the Lancers will miss Lueder's unselfish play.
"It easy to imagine," he said. "Just look how we played the one game without her. We depended on her to handle the ball. She was our best defensive player. That's how we started the game plan.
"But she was special. Not only did she have that mentality to understand the scouting report, but she had the ability to apply them to games. Some players have the physical tools but not the mental capacity to follow through.
"Erin had the combination of both."
LUEDER TIME
3
Greater Metro Conference titles won or shared
39
GMC wins last three years
59
overall wins last three years
→ Girls All-Suburban Team: Profiles of the players. Page 31
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